Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 - a week of confusion

March 14, 2014 — 1.38pm

The weeklong investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 last Saturday has been one of the most confusing in the history of modern air accidents. This is a day-by-day account of the contradictory claims made about the search and possible causes for the disappearance.

Saturday, March 8

1.30 am Malaysian time. Air traffic controllers lose contact with Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The plane reportedly went missing northeast of Kuala Lumpur, over the South China Sea near Vietnam's Tho Chu Island. There is speculation of a catastrophic explosion. Authorities raise the possibility of foul play after two people on board are revealed to be travelling on stolen passports.

Malaysian authorities claim, then back away from, a statement that four people travelled on stolen passports. The two confirmed stolen passports, (Italian and Austrian) were stolen in Phuket, Thailand.

Malaysian home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi describes the two travelling on fake passports as "Asian-looking". Later, Malaysian civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, said they appeared like Italian footballer Mario Balotelli, who is black.

Suspicions fall briefly on a Uighur man linked to the restive Muslim territory in China – although expectations of a Uighur terrorist connection are remote, according to authorities in Malaysia and China.

The search area is expanded to the west without explanation. Malaysian Air Force General Rodzali Daud later says military radar had picked up a signal of the plane turning back.

Air Force General Daud, quoted in Malaysian media, says the last sign of the plane was recorded at 2.40am, near Pulau Perak, an island more than 160 kilometres off the western coast of the Malaysian peninsula. Its scheduled route took it north-east.

Air force chief Daud denies a widely reported claim that military radar tracked the plane reaching the Malacca Strait after travelling more than an hour in the opposite direction from its original route towards Vietnam.

Malaysia's civil aviation chief Rahman confirmed it was possible the Boeing 777 turned back two hours into the six-hour flight.

The Iranians identified as Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, 19, and Delavar Seyedmohammaderza, both thought to be illegal immigrants to Europe.

Report that US Federal Aviation Administration officials warned of a potential weak spot in Boeing 777s which could lead to the "loss of structural integrity of the aircraft" four months before the disappearance of Malaysia airlines flight MH370. Theory emerges that rapid cabin decompression may have led to pilots losing consciousness.

A Chinese government agency releases satellite images it says show unidentified “floating objects” in the “suspected crash area”, about 226 kilometres from the last recorded transponder signal, in waters between Malaysia and Vietnam.

US authorities say signals sent from MH370's engines, picked up by satellites, continued for about four hours after it disappeared from radar. As a result of satellite "pings" authorities searching for the plane say they may expand the hunt into the Indian Ocean, which extends west from the Malacca Strait.

Friday, March 14

Authorities in Kuala Lumpur admit they are not pursuing any leads in the disappearance of MH370 despite a massive search involving ships and planes from 12 countries.

After searching in the area of the South China Sea, authorities say nothing had come of Chinese satellite images. Malaysia says Chinese officials had told them that "the images were released by mistake and did not show any debris".

Malaysian officials say they had expanded the search into the Andaman Sea, the part of the Indian Ocean northwest of the Malacca Strait.